"

Crlglnally publlshed ln Slggraph vlsual roceedlngs, !ohn Crlmes and Cray Lorlg, LdlLors (new ?ork: ACM, 1992),
pp. 47-37. 8epubllshed ln Lngllsh and Cerman ln Zero -- 1he ArL of 8elng Lverywhere, 8oberL Adrlan x and
Cerfrled SLocker, LdlLors (Craz, AusLrla: SLelrlsche kulLurlnlLlaLlve, 1993), pp. 24-32, 40-48, 62-69, 73-92. Also
republlshed ln Lngllsh and Pungarlan ln Lhe arL magazlne rnyekkLk, n. 13, vol. 6, 8udapesL, Pungary, and
ln orLuguese ln Lhe book Comunlcao na Lra smoderna, Monlca 8ecLor and Lduardo nelva (edlLors), LdlLora
vozes, 8lo de !anelro, 1998, pp. 173-199. ubllshed ln lrench ln: Connexlons : ArL, 8eseaux, Medla. Annlck
8ureaud and naLhalle Magnan, eds. (arls: Lcole naLlonale Superleure des 8eaux-ArLs, 2002), pp. 233-269.
LxcerpLed ln Cerman ln: hrsg. !eannoL Slmmen. 1elemaLlk. neLzModernenavlgaLoren (verlags-8uchhandlung
WalLer knlg, kln, 2001), pp. 102-104. 1hls paper dlscusses Lhe hlsLory and Lheory of pre-Web
LelecommunlcaLlons arL, from early avanL-garde radlo and Moholy-nagy's 1elephone lcLures Lo lnLernaLlonal
collaboraLlve works.

!"#$%&" () &*$ !$"&*$&+%" () &$,$%(--./+%!&+(/"
$012304 526 7899:;
+/&<(=.%&+(/

lor Lhe pasL flfLeen years, lncreaslng numbers of arLlsLs around Lhe world are worklng ln
collaboraLlve mode wlLh LelecommunlcaLlons. ln Lhelr 'works', whlch we shall refer Lo as
'evenLs', lmages and graphlcs are noL creaLed as Lhe ulLlmaLe goal or Lhe flnal producL, as lL ls
common ln Lhe flne arLs. Lmploylng compuLers, vldeo, modems and oLher devlces, Lhese
arLlsLs use vlsuals as parL of a much larger lnLeracLlve, bl-dlrecLlonal communlcaLlon conLexL.
lmages and graphlcs are creaLed noL slmply Lo be LransmlLLed by an arLlsL from one polnL Lo
anoLher, buL Lo spark a mulLldlrecLlonal vlsual dlalogue wlLh oLher arLlsLs and parLlclpanLs ln
remoLe locaLlons. 1hls vlsual dlalogue assumes LhaL lmages wlll be changed and Lransformed
LhroughouL Lhe process as much as speech geLs lnLerrupLed, complemenLed, alLered and
reconflgured ln a sponLaneous face-Lo-face conversaLlon. Cnce an evenL ls over, lmages and
graphlcs sLand noL as Lhe "resulL", buL as documenLaLlon of Lhe process of vlsual dlalogue
promoLed by Lhe parLlclpanLs.
1hls unlque ongolng experlmenLaLlon wlLh lmages and graphlcs develops and expands Lhe
noLlon of vlsual Lhlnklng by relylng prlmarlly on Lhe exchange and manlpulaLlon of vlsual
maLerlals as a means of communlcaLlon. 1he arL evenLs creaLed by LelemaLlc or
LelecommunlcaLlons arLlsLs Lake place as a movemenL LhaL anlmaLes and seLs off balance
neLworks sLrucLured wlLh relaLlvely accesslble lnLeracLlve medla such as Lelephone, facslmlle
(fax), personal compuLers, e-mall, and slow-scan Lelevlslon (SS1v). More rarely, radlo, llve
Lelevlslon, vldeophones, saLelllLes and oLher less accesslble means of communlcaLlon come
lnLo play. 8uL Lo ldenLlfy Lhe medla employed ln Lhese 'evenLs' ls noL enough. lnsLead, one
musL do away wlLh pre[udlces LhaL casL off Lhese medla from Lhe realm of "leglLlmaLe" arLlsLlc
medla and lnvesLlgaLe Lhese evenLs as equally leglLlmaLe arLlsLlc enLerprlses.

1hls essay parLlally surveys Lhe hlsLory of Lhe fleld and dlscusses arL evenLs LhaL were elLher
moLlvaLed by or concelved speclally for LelecommunlcaLlons medla. 1he essay aLLempLs Lo
show Lhe LranslLlon, from Lhe early sLages, when radlo provldes wrlLers and arLlsLs wlLh a new
spaLloLemporal paradlgm, Lo a second sLage, ln whlch LelecommunlcaLlons medla, lncludlng
compuLer neLworks, become more accesslble Lo lndlvlduals and arLlsLs sLarL Lo creaLe evenLs,
someLlmes of global proporLlons, ln whlch Lhe communlcaLlon lLself becomes Lhe work.
#
1elecommunlcaLlons arL on Lhe whole ls, perhaps, a culmlnaLlon of Lhe process of
demaLerlallzaLlon of Lhe arL ob[ecL eplLomlzed by uuchamp and pursued by arLlsLs assoclaLed
wlLh Lhe concepLual arL movemenL, such as !oseph kosuLh. lf now Lhe ob[ecL ls LoLally
ellmlnaLed and Lhe arLlsLs are absenL as well, Lhe aesLheLlc debaLe flnds lLself beyond acLlon
as form, beyond ldea as arL. lL founds lLself ln Lhe relaLlonshlps and lnLeracLlons beLween
members of a neLwork.

!<& !/= &$,$%(--./+%!&+(/"
Cne musL Lry Lo undersLand Lhe culLural dlmenslons of new forms of communlcaLlon as Lhey
emerge ln lnnovaLlve arL works whlch wlll noL be experlenced or en[oyed as unldlrecLlonal
messages. 1he complexlLy of Lhe conLemporary soclal scene permeaLed by elecLronlc medla,
where Lhe flux of lnformaLlon becomes Lhe very fabrlc of reallLy, calls for a reevaluaLlon of
LradlLlonal aesLheLlcs and opens Lhe fleld for new developmenLs. ln oLher words, Lo address
Lhe aesLheLlcs of LelecommunlcaLlons ls Lo see how lL affecLed and affecLs more LradlLlonal
arLs. lL ls also Lo lnvesLlgaLe aL whaL exLenL Lhe conLexL for a new arL ls creaLed by Lhe merger
of compuLers and LelecommunlcaLlons. 1he new maLerlal whlch arLlsLs wlll be deallng wlLh
more and more musL be ldenLlfled, Lhen, ln Lhe lnLersecLlon beLween Lhe new elecLronlc
processes of vlsual and llngulsLlc vlrLuallzaLlon broughL lrreverslbly by LelecommunlcaLlons
and Lhe personal compuLer (word-processlng, graphlc programs, anlmaLlon programs,
fax/modems, saLelllLes, Leleconferenclng, eLc) and Lhe resldual forms LhaL resulLed from Lhe
process of demaLerlallzaLlon of Lhe arL ob[ecL, from uuchamp Lo concepLual arL (language,
vldeo, elecLronlc dlsplays, prlnLlng Lechnlques, happenlngs, mall arL, eLc). 1hls new arL ls
collaboraLlve and lnLeracLlve and abollshes Lhe sLaLe of unldlrecLlonallLy LradlLlonally
characLerlsLlc of llLeraLure and arL. lLs elemenLs are LexL, sound, lmage and, evenLually, vlrLual
Louch based on force-feedback devlces. 1hese elemenLs are ouL of balance, Lhey are slgns
whlch are already shlfLlng as gesLures, as eye-conLacL, as LransflguraLlons of perpeLually
unfulfllled meanlng. WhaL ls commuLed ls changed, re-changed, ex-changed. Cne musL
explore Lhls new arL ln lLs own Lerms, l.e., undersLandlng lLs proper conLexL (Lhe lnformaLlon
socleLy aL Lhe dawn of Lhe LwenLy-flrsL cenLury) and Lhe emerglng Lheorles (posLsLrucLurallsm,
chaos Lheory, culLure sLudles) LhaL lnform lLs quesLlonlng of noLlons largely Laken for granLed
such as sub[ecL, ob[ecL, space, Llme, culLure and human communlcaLlon. 1he forum where
Lhls new arL operaLes ls noL Lhe maLerlally sLable plcLorlal space of palnLlng nor Lhe Luclldean
space of sculpLural form, lL ls Lhe elecLronlc vlrLual space of LelemaLlcs where slgns are afloaL,
where lnLeracLlvlLy desLroys Lhe conLemplaLlve noLlon of beholder or connolsseur Lo replace
lL by Lhe experlenLlal noLlon of user or parLlclpanL. 1he aesLheLlcs of LelecommunlcaLlons
operaLes Lhe necessary move from plcLorlal represenLaLlon Lo communlcaLlonal experlence.

1wo of Lhe mosL lnLeresLlng new forms of communlcaLlon LhaL seem Lo do away wlLh Lhe old
addresser-addressee model proposed by Shannon and Weaver [1] and relnforced by
!akobson [2] are elecLronlc mall (e-mall) and conference calllng. ln e-mall a user can posL up a
message and leL lL adrlfL ln elecLronlc space, wlLhouL necessarlly sendlng lL Lo a speclflc
addressee. 1hen anoLher user, or several oLher users aL Lhe same Llme, can access Lhls
message and answer lL, or change lL, or add a commenL or lncorporaLe Lhls message lnLo a
larger and new conLexL -- ln a process LhaL has no end. 1he closed message as ldenLlLy of Lhe
sub[ecL ls poLenLlally dlssolved and losL ln Lhe slgnlfylng vorLex of Lhe neLwork. lf real-Llme ls
$
noL cruclal for e-mall, Lhe same cannoL be sald abouL conference calllng, where Lhree or more
people engage ln exchanges LhaL don'L have Lo be llmlLed Lo volce.[3] lf Lhe llnear model goes
as far as allowlng for addresser Lo become addressee when Lhe poles are reverLed, Lhls new
mulLldlrecLlonal and lnLerconnecLed model melLs Lhe boundarles LhaL used Lo separaLe
sender and recelver. lL conflgures a space wlLh no llnear poles ln whlch dlscusslon replaces
alLernaLe monologues, a space wlLh nodes LhaL polnL ln several dlrecLlons where everybody ls
slmulLaneously (and noL alLernaLely) boLh addresser and addressee. 1hls ls noL a plcLorlal or
volumeLrlc space, buL an aporeLlc space of lnformaLlon ln flux, a dlssemlnaLed hyperspace
LhaL does away wlLh Lhe Lopologlcal rlgldlLy of Lhe llnear model. lL shares Lhe properLles of
non-llnear sysLems, such as found ln hypermedla or ln Lhe sLaLlsLlcal self-slmllarlLy of fracLals,
as opposed Lo Lhe embelllshed llnear surfaces of posL-modern palnLlng. lL ls here, posslbly,
LhaL arLlsLs can lnLervene crlLlcally and suggesL a redeflnlLlon of Lhe framework and Lhe role of
LelemaLlcs, exhlblLlng LhaL anLagonlsLlc forces muLually consLlLuLe each oLher. WhaL we used
Lo call Lrue and real ls and has always been reclprocally and dynamlcally, ln lLs play of
dlfferences, consLlLuLed by whaL we used Lo call false and unreal. CulLural values are also
quesLloned, slnce Lhe sLrucLures LhaL prlvlleged one culLure over Lhe oLhers are concepLually
challenged, brlnglng culLural dlfferences Lo Lhe forefronL. ArLlsLs can also show, by worklng
wlLh Lhe new medla, whaL role Lhe new medla play ln formlng or preservlng sLable sLrucLures
LhaL form Lhe self, LhaL model communlcaLlon, and, ulLlmaLely, LhaL creaLe soclal relaLlons
(lncludlng relaLlons of auLhorlLy and power).
ln llke manner, arLlsL and audlence are also consLrucLed ln Lhls play of dlfferences. lf Lhe mass-
produced prlnLed book would generaLe boLh Lhe noLlons of auLhor and audlence as we know
Lhem Loday, assoclaLlng conLrol over Lhe dlsLrlbuLlon of prlnLed lnformaLlon Lo power, Lhe
dlssemlnaLed play of meanlng of LelemaLlc neLworks poLenLlally dlssolves boLh wlLhouL fully
esLabllshlng Lhe lnLegraLed, harmonlzed, aural global vlllage dreamed of by McLuhan. lf
LelecommunlcaLlon ls LhaL whlch brlngs people closer, lL also ls LhaL whlch keeps Lhem aparL.
lf LelemaLlcs ls LhaL whlch makes lnformaLlon accesslble Lo everyone aL any momenL
regardless of geographlc fronLlers, lL also ls LhaL whlch makes cerLaln klnds of daLa generaLed
by parLlcular groups ln cerLaln formaLs accesslble Lo people lnvolved wlLh speclflc lnsLlLuLlons.
1haL whlch brlngs people closer ls also whaL keeps Lhem away, LhaL whlch asks ls also LhaL
whlch afflrms cerLaln values lmpllclL ln Lhe framlng of Lhe quesLlon. lf Lhere ls no end Lo Lhls
play, Lo Lhls moLlon, Lhere musL be awareness of lLs conLexL -- buL Lhen agaln awareness ls noL
removed from Lhls moLlon Lhrough whlch lL ls also conflgured.
1o Lhe llnear model of communlcaLlon, whlch prlvlleges Lhe arLlsL as Lhe codlfler of messages
(palnLlngs, sculpLures, LexLs, phoLographs), LelemaLlcs opposes a mulLldlrecLlonal model of
communlcaLlon, one where Lhe arLlsL ls creaLor of conLexLs, faclllLaLor of lnLercaLlons. lf ln Lhe
flrsL case messages have physlcal and semlologlcal lnLegrlLy and are open only Lo Lhe exLenL
Lhey allow for dlfferenL lnLerpreLaLlons, ln Lhe second case lL ls noL mere semanLlc
amblvalence LhaL characLerlzes Lhe slgnlflcaLlonal openness. 1he openness of Lhe second case
ls LhaL whlch sLrlves Lo neuLrallze closed sysLems of meanlng and provlde Lhe former vlewer
(now Lransformed lnLo user, parLlclpanL, or neLwork member) wlLh Lhe same manlpulaLlon
Lools and codes aL Lhe arLlsL's dlsposal so LhaL Lhe meanlng can be negoLlaLed beLween boLh.
1hls ls noL a slmple lnverslon of poles, as proposed by Lnzensberger [4], buL an aLLempL Lo
acknowledge and operaLe wlLhln a slgnlflcaLlon process LhaL ls dynamlc, desLablllzed and
mulLlvocal, wlLhln a slgnlflcaLlon process noL based on Lhe opposlLlon arLlsL/audlence buL on
Lhe dlfferences and ldenLlLles Lhey share. Messages are noL "works" buL a parL of larger
%
communlcaLlonal conLexLs, and can be changed, alLered and manlpulaLed vlrLually by
anybody.
Cne of Lhe problemaLlc lssues here ls LhaL Lhe dlssoluLlon of Lhe arLlsL ln Lhe user and vlce-
versa would Lake away from arLlsLs Lhelr prlvlleged poslLlon as senders or addressers, because
Lhere ls no more message or work of arL as such. lL ls clear LhaL mosL arLlsLs are noL prepared
Lo or lnLeresLed ln glvlng up Lhls hlerarchy because lL undermlnes Lhe pracLlce of arL as a
proflLable acLlvlLy and Lhe soclal dlsLlncLlon assoclaLed wlLh noLlons such as sklll, crafL,
lndlvlduallLy, arLlsLlc genlus, lnsplraLlon and personallLy. 1he arLlsL, afLer all, ls someone who
sees hlmself or herself as somebody who should be heard, as somebody who has someLhlng
lmporLanL Lo say, someLhlng lmporLanL Lo LransmlL Lo socleLy [3]. Cn Lhe oLher hand, one can
ask aL whaL exLenL arLlsLs LhaL creaLe LelecommunlcaLlon evenLs don'L resLore Lhe same
hlerarchy Lhey seem Lo negaLe by presenLlng Lhemselves as Lhe organlzers or dlrecLors or
creaLors of Lhe evenLs Lhey promoLe -- ln oLher words, as Lhe cenLral flgure from whlch
meanlng lrradlaLes. As lL seems, whlle a Lelevlslon dlrecLor works ln collaboraLlve fashlon wlLh
Lens or hundreds of people wlLhouL ever glvlng up Lhe responslblllLy for Lhe ouLcome of Lhe
work, Lhe arLlsL (conLexL-creaLor) LhaL produces LelecommunlcaLlon evenLs seLs a neLwork
wlLhouL fully conLrolllng Lhe flux of slgns Lhrough lL. 1he arLlsL worklng wlLh
LelecommunlcaLlon medla glves up hls or her responslblllLy for Lhe "work", Lo presenL Lhe
evenL as LhaL whlch resLores or Lrles Lo resLore Lhe responslblllLy (ln 8audrlllard's sense) of Lhe
medla. [6]
l musL observe LhaL cerLaln Lraces of apparenLly uncrlLlcal enLhuslasm for Lhls change ln Lhe
processes and lssues of arL are ldenLlflable noL only ln Lhe presenL essay and ln oLher LexLs of
mlne on Lhe sub[ecL [7], buL also ln Lhe wrlLlngs of oLher arLlsLs LhaL address Lhe aesLheLlcs of
communlcaLlons aL large, and of LelecommunlcaLlons or LelemaLlcs ln parLlcular, lncludlng
8ruce 8reland [8], 8oy AscoLL [9], karen C'8ourke [10], Lrlc Cldney [11] and lred loresL [12].
ArLlsLs are now endowed wlLh new lnsLrumenLs wlLh whlch Lhey reflecL on conLemporary
lssues, such as culLural relaLlvlsm, sclenLlflc lndeLermlnacy, Lhe pollLlcal economy of Lhe
lnformaLlon age, llLerary deconsLrucLlon and descenLrallzaLlon of knowledge, arLlsLs are now
able Lo respond Lo Lhese lssues wlLh Lhe same maLerlal (hardware) and lmmaLerlal (sofLware)
means LhaL oLher soclal spheres employ ln Lhelr acLlvlLles, ln Lhelr communlon and lsolaLlon. lf
acLual walls are falllng (8erlln Wall, lron CurLaln), and so are meLaphorlcal walls (LelemaLlc
space, vlrLual reallLy, Lelepresence), one can noL slmply overlook or overesLlmaLe Lhese
hlsLorlcal and Lechnlcal achlevemenLs. lL ls noL only wlLh shear enLhuslasm for new Lools LhaL
Lhe arLlsL wlll work wlLh communlcaLlon Lechnologles, buL also wlLh a crlLlcal, skepLlcal
approach concernlng Lhe loglc of medlaLlon Lhey enLall. 1hls means noL lgnorlng LhaL uLoplas
of ublqulLous elecLronlcally medlaLed communlcaLlon necessarlly exclude Lhose culLures and
counLrles LhaL, usually for pollLlcal and economlc reasons, don'L have Lhe same or compaLlble
Lechnologles and Lherefore cannoL parLlclpaLe ln any global exchange.[13]
LeL's suppose LhaL ln a noL so dlsLanL fuLure !aron Lanler's dream of "posL-symbollc"
communlcaLlon [14] becomes posslble and LhaL Lhe cosL per mlnuLe ln a cyberspace maLrlx ls
comparable Lo Lhe normal cosL of a phone call. 1hls hypoLheLlcal slLuaLlon could be a vlable
approach Lo Lhe problem of llngulsLlc barrlers (lncludlng language lmpalrmenL), buL lL would
be no dlfferenL from oLher cases of economlc segregaLlon, glven LhaL even baslc Lelephone
Lechnology ls full of serlous problems ln mosL developlng counLrles. erhaps exacLly because
of Lhese problems, and noL desplLe Lhem, arLlsLs are uslng Loday's Lechnlques Lo dlscuss
&
Loday's lssues. lf LelecommunlcaLlons arL wlll noL slmply neglecL Lhe conLradlcLlons lnherlLed
ln Lhe medla and ln oLher Lechnologlcal monopolles presenL ln laLe caplLallsL socleLles, l sLlll
llke Lo Lhlnk LhaL perhaps freer forms of communlcaLlon can emerge ouL of new lnLeracLlve
arLlsLlc pracLlces LhaL make Lhe process of symbollc exchange Lhe very realm of lLs experlence.


=+"$->(=+$= ?(+%$"
An assessmenL of Lhe parallel developmenL of LelecommunlcaLlons medla and new arL forms
LhroughouL Lhe LwenLleLh-cenLury reveals an lnLeresLlng LranslLlon: one flrsL sees Lhe lmpacL
of new medla on much older forms, such as radlo lnfluenclng LheaLer, laLer, lL ls posslble Lo
deLecL more experlmenLal uses of Lhese medla. AL lasL, arLlsLs masLer Lhe new elecLronlc
medla and explore Lhelr lnLeracLlve and communlcaLlonal poLenLlal. ln Lhls perspecLlve, radlo
ls Lhe flrsL elecLronlc mass communlcaLlons medlum used by arLlsLs.
ln Lhe laLe 1920's commerclallzaLlon of alr waves was ln lLs lnfancy. 8adlo was a new medlum
LhaL capLured Lhe lmaglnaLlon of Lhe llsLeners wlLh an audlLory space capable of evoklng
menLal lmages wlLh no spaLloLemporal llmlLs. A remoLe and undeLecLed source of sound
dlssoclaLed from opLlcal lmages, radlo opened llsLeners Lo Lhelr own mlndscapes, enveloplng
Lhem ln an acousLlc space LhaL could provlde boLh soclallzaLlon and prlvaLe experlences.
8adlo was Lhe flrsL Lrue mass medlum, capable of remoLely addresslng mllllons aL once, as
opposed Lo clnema, for example, whlch was only avallable Lo a local audlence.
ln 1928 Cerman fllm maker WalLer 8uLLmann (1887-1941) was lnvlLed by Lhe 8erlln
8roadcasLlng SysLem Lo creaLe a plece for radlo. 8uLLman had already achleved lnLernaLlonal
recognlLlon for hls absLracL anlmaLed fllms, such as Cpus l, ll, lll and lv, whlch ploneered Lhe
genre and anLlclpaLed compuLer anlmaLlon by half a cenLury. Pls experlmenLal documenLary
"8erlln, Symphony of a CreaL ClLy" (1927) also was acclalmed worldwlde, and lnsplred a
whole generaLlon of fllm makers who Lhen creaLed fllmlc "clLy symphonles". ln addlLlon Lo hls
conLrlbuLlon Lo fllm maklng, 8uLLman's lnnovaLlve work for radlo would open Lhe alr waves Lo
Lhe aesLheLlc of Lhe avanL-garde, challenglng Lhe sLandardlzaLlon of programlng lmposed by
commerclal lmperaLlves.
ln order Lo creaLe Lhe commlssloned plece, 8uLLman was glven access Lo whaL was one of Lhe
besL recordlng sysLems for fllm ln Lhe world, Lhe "1rlergon" process. Comlng from Lhe world
of clnema, 8uLLman declded Lo creaLe "Weekend", a movle wlLhouL lmages, a dlsconLlnuous
narraLlve based on Lhe menLal lmages pro[ecLed by Lhe sounds alone. Pe employed Lhe sound
Lrack ln Lhe reel as he would have employed Lhe frame Lo record lmages. "Weekend" lasLs
abouL flfLeen mlnuLes and creaLes an aural aLmosphere LhaL porLrays workers leavlng Lhe clLy
and golng Lo Lhe counLryslde afLer a worklng day. lf aL flrsL sounds produced by saws, cars and
Lralns are predomlnanL, laLer sounds of blrds chlrplng and chlldren speaklng wlll appear more
ofLen. As he had done wlLh "Symphony of a CreaL ClLy", 8uLLman edlLed Lhls plcLureless fllm
ln experlmenLal fashlon: spllclng Lhe reel and wlLh lL Lhe sound Lrack, repeaLlng cerLaln
sounds, reorganlzlng Lhe sequence and duraLlon of sounds. Pe edlLed sound llke one edlLs
fllm.
"Weekend" as a sound monLage, concelved for a recordlng medlum and for radlo
Lransmlsslon, opened new venues and anLlclpaLed Lhe aesLheLlcs of movemenLs such as
'
ConcreLe Muslc and of arLlsLs such as !ohn Cage and karlhelnz SLockhausen. lf 8uLLman
deflned hls absLracL fllms as "opLlcal muslc", one would noL heslLaLe Lo descrlbe "Weekend"
as Lhe flrsL "acousLlc fllm" creaLed for radlo.
As lL became more popular, radlo lnsplred and aLLracLed professlonals from dlfferenL
backgrounds, lncludlng arLlsLs, performers, wrlLers and members of Lhe avanL-garde, such as
Lhe lLallan luLurlsLs. Slnce Lhe very beglnnlng of luLurlsm, ln 1909, MarlneLLl and hls
supporLers promoLed Lhe surpasslng of LradlLlonal forms and Lhe lnvenLlon of new ones aL Lhe
same Llme LhaL Lhey celebraLed Lechnologlcal mlllLarlzaLlon and war. MarlneLLl collaboraLed
closely wlLh Mussollnl's reglme. ln 1929 MarlneLLl became a member of Lhe lLallan Academy,
founded by Mussollnl, and ln 1939 he served ln a commlsslon organlzed by Lhe fasclsL reglme
Lo censor undeslred books, lncludlng Lhose wrlLLen by !ewlsh auLhors. ln 1933 he parLed as a
volunLeer Lo Lhe war ln LLhlopla, and ln 1942 he parLed, agaln as a volunLeer, Lo Lhe 8usslan
fronL.
1he fuLurlsLs' lasL cry for a new arL form came ln SepLember-CcLober of 1933, wlLh Lhe
"ManlfesLo uella 8adlo" or "La 8adla", slgned by MarlneLLl and lno MasnaLa, and publlshed
boLh ln "CazzeLLa del opolo", 1orlno, SepLember 22, and ln Lhelr own perlodlcal enLlLled
"luLurlsmo", 8ome, CcLober 1 -- alLhough ln Lhe lasL one only MarlneLLl's name appears [13].
1he manlfesLo was drafLed Lwo years afLer MasnaLa wroLe Lhe llbreLLo for Lhe radlo opera
"1um 1um Lullaby ( or Wanda's PearL)".
ln Lhe manlfesLo, Lhey proposed LhaL radlo be freed from arLlsLlc and llLerary LradlLlon and
LhaL Lhe arL of radlo beglns where LheaLer and movles sLop. Clearly, Lhelr pro[ecL for an arL of
sounds and sllences evolved from 8ussolo's arL of nolses and, llke 8ussolo, Lhey Lrled Lo
expand Lhe specLrum of sources Lhe arLlsL can use ln radlo. MarlneLLl and MasnaLa proposed
Lhe recepLlon, ampllflcaLlon and LransflguraLlon of vlbraLlons emlLLed by llvlng belngs and
maLLer. 1hls proposal was furLhered by Lhe mlxLure of concreLe and absLracL nolses and "Lhe
slnglng" of lnanlmaLe ob[ecLs such as flowers and dlamonds. 1hey clalmed LhaL Lhe radlo arLlsL
("radlasLa") would creaLe words-ln-freedom ("parole ln llberL"), maklng a phoneLlc
LransposlLlon of Lhe absoluLe Lypographlc llberLy explored by luLurlsL wrlLers ln Lhe vlsual
composlLlon of Lhelr poems. 8uL even lf Lhe radlo arLlsL would noL alr words-ln-freedom, hls
broadcasLs sLlll musL be
ln Lhe parollbero sLyle (derlved from our words-ln-freedom) LhaL already clrculaLes ln avanL-
garde novels and ln Lhe newspapers, a sLyle Lyplcally fasL, dashlng, slmulLaneous and
synLheLlc.
luLurlsL radlo could employ lsolaLed words and repeaL verbs ln Lhe lnflnlLlve. lL could explore
Lhe "muslc" of gasLronomy, gymnasLlcs and love-maklng, as well as use slmulLaneously
sounds, nolses, harmonles, clusLers and sllences Lo compose gradaLlons of crescendo and
dlmlnuendo. lL could make Lhe lnLerference beLween sLaLlons a parL of Lhe work, or creaLe
"geomeLrlc" consLrucLlons of sllence. AL lasL, luLurlsL radlo, by addresslng Lhe masses, would
ellmlnaLe Lhe concepL and Lhe presLlge of Lhe speclallzed publlc, whlch always had "a
deformlng and denlgraLlng lnfluence". Cn november 24, 1933, lorLunaLo uepero and
MarlneLLl made Lhe flrsL fuLurlsL Lransmlsslons over 8adlo Mllano [16].
(
ln 1941, MarlneLLl publlshed an anLhology of luLurlsL LheaLer wlLh a long LlLle -- "1he fuLurlsL
LheaLer synLheLlc (dlnamlc-llloglcal-auLonomous-slmulLaneous-vlslonlsLlc) surprlslng
aeroradloLelevlsual muslc-hall radlophonlc (wlLhouL crlLlclsms buL wlLh Mlsurazlonl)" [17] -- ln
whlch he complled nlne of MasnaLa's and flve of hls own radlo works ( "radlophonlc
synLhesls").
1hroughouL Lhe 1930's radlo noL only became Lechnlcally rellable buL Lunable, allowlng Lhe
llsLener Lo choose among several programmlng opLlons. 8adlo could now recelve shorL,
medlum and long waves from conslderable dlsLances. WheLher en[oyed for enLerLalnmenL or
halled as Lool for pollLlcal propaganda, radlo became a domesLlc convergence polnL. LlsLenlng
Lo radlo became a generallzed hablL ln Lhe 1930's, when Lhe world was aL Lhe verge of
anoLher global confllcL.
ln CcLober 30, 1938, Lhe Sunday program "1he Mercury 1heaLer ln 1he Alr" dlrecLed by 23-
year old Crson Welles and alred by Columbla 8roadcasLlng SysLem, ln new !ersey, always aL 8
M, would presenL anoLher adapLaLlon of a llLerary LexL -- Lhls Llme Lo celebraLe Palloween.
WrlLer Poward koch adapLed Lhe novel chosen by Crson Welles, "1he War of 1he Worlds"
(1898) by PerberL Ceorge Wells (1866-1946), updaLlng Lhe sLory and Lransposlng Lhe acLlon Lo
a vlrLually unknown buL real place, Crovers Mlll, ln new !ersey. 1he cholce was accldenLal buL
convenlenL, slnce lL was close Lo Lhe rlnceLon CbservaLory, where koch placed Lhe flcLlLlous
AsLronomy auLhorlLy rof. lerson. More lmporLanLly, koch sLrucLured Lhe sLory -- apparenLly
followlng a suggesLlon by Mecury 1heaLer producer !ohn Pouseman -- lnLercalaLlng muslc and
news, so LhaL lL seemed LhaL Lhe muslc was belng lnLerrupLed every now and Lhen because of
sLrange evenLs and news flashes LhaL reporLed Lhem llve.
ln Crson Welles dramaLlc volce, llsLeners became aware, llLLle by llLLle, LhaL Lhe lnlLlal
exploslons observed on Lhe surface of Mars Lurned ouL Lo be dlsLurbances caused by
unldenLlfled flylng ob[ecLs LhaL landed ln Crovers Mlll. nexL, Lhe monsLrous MarLlan lnvaders
sLarLed Lo use Lhelr "heaL ray" and pro[ecL lLs "parallel beam" agalnsL everyLhlng surroundlng
Lhem, burnlng people allve and desLroylng cars, houses, clLles. uesplLe several
announcemenLs durlng Lhe program LhaL lL was flcLlLlous, Lhe news formaL of Lhe broadcasL
caughL casual llsLeners by surprlse. AL Lhe end, when rof. lerson read hls dlary and revealed
LhaL Lhe MarLlans had been defeaLed by LerresLrlal mlcroorganlsms -- lL was Loo laLe.
WlLh nervous volces, Mercury 1heaLer acLors and acLresses deplcLed Lhe landlng of MarLlan
war machlnes, Lhe flre lgnlLed by Lhe deadly rays, and Lhe panlc of wlLnesses. 1he publlc
reacLed wlLh angulsh and despalr. nobody dled buL several people goL ln[ured, mlscarrlages
occurred, houses were lefL behlnd wlLhouL a second LhoughL, roads were caughL ln huge
Lrafflc [ams and pollcemen and flremen were moblllzed agalnsL Lhe lnvlslble menace. ln new
?ork ClLy, many resldenLs loaded Lhelr cars and drove away from new !ersey. Calls from Lhe
LasL overloaded Lhe Lelephone llnes ln Lhe SouLhwesLern unlLed SLaLes and ln newark, new
!ersey, hundreds of docLors and nurses called hosplLals Lo volunLeer Lhelr servlces. ln
ConcreLe, WashlngLon, an accldenLal blackouL happened exacLly aL Lhe polnL ln Lhe
Lransmlsslon when Lhe MarLlans were Laklng conLrol over Lhe counLry's power sysLem. ln Lhe
SouLh, people soughL refuge ln local churches and ln ennsylvanla a woman was saved from
sulclde by Lhe Llmely reLurn home of her husband. Angry llsLeners fllled lawsulLs agalnsL
Welles and C8S, wlLhouL ma[or consequences. Welles' conLracL made hlm noL responslble for
)
consequences of any of Lhe program's broadcasLs, and C8S could noL be severely penallzed
slnce Lhere was no prevlous slmllar case Lo base an evaluaLlon of Lhe lncldenL on.
Welles' slmulaLed MarLlan lnvaslon revealed, for Lhe flrsL Llme, Lhe Lrue power of radlo. lL
exhlblLed Lhe unlque ablllLy of radlo Lo play wlLh Lhe breaLh of speech and Lhe plasLlc sonorlLy
of lLs speclal effecLs Lo exclLe Lhe lmaglnaLlon of Lhe llsLener. lL showed how Lhe Lechnlcal
rellablllLy of Lhe medlum bullL lLs credlblllLy, glvlng veraclLy Lo news LransmlLLed Lhrough lL. lL
explored unlque Lemporal rhyLhms, mlxlng real-Llme (Lhe Lransmlsslon lasLed abouL one hour)
and dramaLlzed Llme (rof. lerson Lells us aL Lhe end LhaL Lhe whole evenL happened ln a few
days). 1he sllence beLween Lhe cuLs (from muslc Lo news and vlce-versa) was noL slmply an
absence of sound, as ln a muslcal pause, lL was presenLed Lo Lhe llsLener as Lhe acLual walLlng
Llme Lo llnk Lhe reporLer aL Lhe scene of Lhe landlng Lo Lhe crew ln Lhe sLudlo. erhaps, even
more slgnlflcanL was Lhe facL LhaL durlng Lhe Lransmlsslon Lhe panlc felL by Lhousand of
llsLeners was very real. 1he lnvaslon was an evenL LhaL happened ln Lhe medlum of radlo and
Lhls medlum was already so much parL of Lhe llves of Lhe llsLeners, lL was so LransparenL and
unquesLlonably rellable, LhaL Lhe Lransmlsslon was noL experlenced as a represenLaLlon or
enacLmenL. lL was "hyperreal" ln 8audrlllard's sense of Lhe word , an experlence ln whlch
slgns noL grounded ln reallLy are so much real LhaL Lhey become more real Lhan Lhe real.[18]
Welles made expllclL Lhe pseudo-Lransparency of Lhe mass medla by unvelllng Lhe
mechanlsms by whlch Lhe medla Lrles Lo make lLself a clear wlndow Lo LruLh, Lhe way lL
preLends Lo lgnore lLs own medlaLlon and Lhe lnfluence lL has on Lhe collecLlve
unconsclousness of socleLy. no doubL, Welles aLLracLed Lhe rage of lawmakers wlLh a
propenslLy Lo censorshlp. 8adlo and elecLronlc medla would never be Lhe same afLer Lhe
slmulaLed lnvaslon from Mars.

&$,$#*(/$ #+%&.<$"
1he Lelephone, Lhe auLomoblle, Lhe alrplane and, of course, radlo, were for Lhe avanL-garde
arLlsLs of Lhe flrsL decades of Lhls cenLury a symbol of modern llfe, ln whlch Lechnology could
exLend human percepLlon and capablllLles. 1he dadalsLs, however, devlaLed from Lhe general
enLhuslasm for sclenLlflc raLlonallsm and crlLlclzed Lechnology's desLrucLlve power. ln 1920, ln
Lhe "uada-Almanac", edlLed ln 8erlln by 8lchard Puelsenbeck, Lhey publlshed Lhe lrreverenL
proposal LhaL a palnLer could now order plcLures by Lelephone and have Lhem made by a
cablneL-maker. 1hls ldea appeared ln Lhe "Almanac" as a pun and a provocaLlon.
ConsLrucLlvlsL Pungarlan arLlsL Laszlo Moholy-nagy (1893-1946) was llvlng ln 8erlln aL Lhe
Llme, buL lL ls uncerLaln wheLher he read lL or heard abouL lL. WhaL ls cerLaln ls LhaL Lhe soon-
Lo-be member of Lhe 8auhaus belleved LhaL lnLellecLual moLlvaLlons were as valld as
emoLlonal ones ln creaLlng arL and declded Lo prove lL Lo hlmself. ?ears laLer, Lhe arLlsL wroLe,

ln 1922 l ordered by Lelephone from a slgn facLory flve palnLlngs ln porcelaln enamel. l had
Lhe facLory's color charL before me and l skeLched my palnLlngs on graph paper. AL Lhe oLher
end of Lhe Lelephone Lhe facLory supervlsor had Lhe same klnd of paper, dlvlded lnLo squares.
Pe Look down Lhe dlcLaLed shapes ln Lhe correcL poslLlon. (lL was llke playlng chess by
correspondence.) Cne of Lhe plcLures was dellvered ln Lhree dlfferenL slzes, so LhaL l could
sLudy Lhe subLle dlfferences ln Lhe color relaLlons caused by Lhe enlargemenL and
reducLlon.[19]

*
WlLh Lhe Lhree Lelephone plcLures descrlbed above, Lhe arLlsL was Laklng hls ConsLrucLlvlsL
ldeas several sLeps furLher. llrsL, he had Lo deLermlne preclsely Lhe poslLlon of forms ln Lhe
plcLure plane wlLh Lhe mlnuLe squares ln Lhe graph paper as Lhe grld Lhrough whlch Lhe
plcLorlal elemenLs sLrucLured Lhemselves. 1hls process of plxellaLlon ln a sense anLlclpaLed Lhe
meLhods of compuLer arL. ln order Lo explaln Lhe composlLlon over Lhe phone, Moholy had Lo
converL Lhe arL work from a physlcal enLlLy Lo a descrlpLlon of Lhe ob[ecL, esLabllshlng a
relaLlonshlp of semloLlc equlvalence. 1hls procedure anLedaLes concerns seL forLh by
concepLual arL ln Lhe 1960's. nexL, Moholy LransmlLLed Lhe plcLorlal daLa maklng Lhe process
of Lransmlsslon a slgnlflcanL parL of Lhe overall experlence. 1he Lransmlsslon dramaLlzed Lhe
ldea LhaL Lhe modern arLlsL can be sub[ecLlvely dlsLanL, he or she can be personally removed
from Lhe work. lL expanded Lhe noLlon LhaL Lhe arL ob[ecL doesn'L have Lo be Lhe dlrecL resulL
of Lhe hand or Lhe crafL of Lhe arLlsL. Moholy's declslon Lo call a slgn facLory, capable of
provldlng lndusLrlal flnlshlng and sclenLlflc preclslon, lnsLead of, say, an amaLeur palnLer,
aLLesLs Lo hls moLlfs. lurLhermore, Lhe mulLlpllcaLlon of Lhe flnal ob[ecL ln Lhree varlaLlons
desLroyed Lhe noLlon of Lhe "orlglnal" work, polnLlng Lowards Lhe new arLforms LhaL emerge
ln Lhe age of mechanlcal reproducLlon. unllke MoneL's sequenLlal palnLlngs, Lhe Lhree slmllar
Lelephone plcLures are noL a serles. 1hey are coples wlLhouL an orlglnal. AnoLher lnLeresLlng
aspecL of Lhe work ls LhaL scale, a fundamenLal aspecL of any arL plece, becomes relaLlve and
secondary. 1he work becomes volaLlzed, belng able Lo be embodled ln dlfferenL slzes.
needless Lo say, relaLlve scale ls a characLerlsLlc of compuLer arL, where Lhe work exlsLs ln Lhe
vlrLual space of Lhe screen and can be embodled ln a small prlnL and ln a mural of glganLlc
proporLlons.
uesplLe all Lhe lnLeresLlng ldeas lL announces, Lhe case of Lhe Lelephone plcLures ls
conLroverslal. Moholy's flrsL wlfe, Lucla, wlLh whom he was llvlng aL Lhe Llme, sLaLes LhaL ln
facL he ordered Lhem ln person. ln her accounL of Lhe experlence, she recalls LhaL he was so
enLhuslasLlc when Lhe enamel palnLlngs were dellvered LhaL he exclalmed: "l mlghL even have
done lL over Lhe phone!" [20]. 1he Lhlrd personal record of Lhe evenL, and as far as l know
Lhere are only Lhree, comes from Sybll Moholy-nagy, Lhe arLlsL's second wlfe:

Pe had Lo prove Lo hlmself Lhe supra-lndlvlduallsm of Lhe ConsLrucLlvlsL concepL, Lhe
exlsLence of ob[ecLlve vlsual values, lndependenL of Lhe arLlsL's lnsplraLlon and hls speclflc
pelnLure. Pe dlcLaLed hls palnLlngs Lo Lhe foreman of a slgn facLory, uslng a color charL and an
order blank of graph paper Lo speclfy Lhe locaLlon of form elemenLs and Lhelr exacL hue. 1he
LransmlLLed skeLch was execuLed ln Lhree dlfferenL slzes Lo demonsLraLe Lhrough
modlflcaLlons of denslLy and space relaLlons Lhe lmporLance of sLrucLure and lLs varylng
emoLlonal lmpacL. [21]
We are lefL wlLh Lhe quesLlon, usually seL aslde by commenLaLors, of wheLher Moholy acLually
employed Lhe Lelephone or noL. AlLhough apparenLly lrrelevanL, slnce Lhe Lhree works were
acLually palnLed by an employee of a slgn facLory accordlng Lo Lhe arLlsL's speclflcaLlons and
were named "1elephone lcLures" by Moholy-nagy hlmself, Lhls quesLlon cannoL be LoLally
dlsregarded or answered. Lucla seems Lo remember Lhe evenL clearly, buL Lhe arLlsL's
accounL, ln Lhe absence of proofs LhaL sLaLe oLherwlse, would have Lo be preponderanL. Cne
Lends Lo assume Lhey could have been ordered over Lhe phone because Moholy was an
enLhuslasL of new Lechnologles ln general and of LelecommunlcaLlons ln parLlcular. ln Lhe
book "alnLlng, hoLography, lllm" [22], orlglnally publlshed ln 1923, he reproduced Lwo
"wlreless Lelegraphed phoLographs" and a sequence of Lwo lmages he descrlbed as examples
"+
of "Lelegraphed clnema" -- all by rof. A. korn. ln Lhe same book, Moholy seems Lo conclude
Lhls chapLer by launchlng an early call for new arL forms Lo emerge ouL of Lhe age of
LelecommunlcaLlons:

Men sLlll klll one anoLher, Lhey have noL yeL undersLood how Lhey llve, why Lhey llve, pollLlclans fall Lo observe
LhaL Lhe earLh ls an enLlLy, yeL Lelevlslon has been lnvenLed: Lhe 'lar Seer' -- Lomorrow we shall be able Lo look
lnLo Lhe hearL of our fellow-man, be everywhere and yeL be alone. (...) WlLh Lhe developmenL of phoLo-
Lelegraphy, whlch enables reproducLlons and accuraLe lllusLraLlons Lo be made lnsLanLaneously, even
phllosophlcal works wlll presumably use Lhe same means -- Lhough on a hlgher plane -- as Lhe presenL day
Amerlcan magazlnes. [23]
WlLh Moholy-nagy's Lhree "Lelephone plcLures", whlch were shown ln hls flrsL one-man
shown, ln 1924, aL Lhe gallery uer SLurm, ln 8erlln, we saw Lhe arLlsL acknowledglng Lhe
concepLuallzaLlon power of Lhe Lelephone exchange. 1hls flrsL experlence was recognlzed by
1he Museum of ConLemporary ArL, ln Chlcago, as a forerunner of Lhe concepLual arL of Lhe
1960's wlLh Lhe november 1-uecember 14, 1969 exhlblL "ArL by 1elephone". 1hlrLy-slx arLlsLs
were asked Lo place a phone call Lo Lhe Museum, or Lo answer Lhe Museum's call, and Lhen Lo
lnsLrucL Museum sLaff abouL whaL Lhelr conLrlbuLlon Lo Lhe show would be. 1he Museum
Lhen produced Lhe pleces and dlsplayed Lhem. A record-caLalogue was produced wlLh
recordlngs of Lhe phone engagemenLs beLween arLlsLs and Museum. 1he ulrecLor of Lhe
Museum, !an van der Marck, susLalned LhaL no group exhlblLlon had LesLed Lhe aesLheLlc
posslblllLles of remoLe-conLrol creaLlon:
Maklng Lhe Lelephone anclllary Lo creaLlon and employlng lL as a llnk beLween mlnd and hand has never been
aLLempLed ln any formal fashlon. [24]
"ArL by Lelephone" was noL meanL as a LelecommunlcaLlons arL evenL. lL was a group
exhlblLlon of works produced by an unusual meLhod: Lelephone descrlpLlons followed by
curaLors' own lmplemenLaLlons. 1he arLlsL was Lo be, as ln Lhe case of Moholy, physlcally
absenL from Lhe process. Marck saw Lhls as an expanslon of Lhe syncreLlsm beLween
language, performance and vlsual arLs characLerlsLlc of Lhe decade. ConcepLual arL seL Lhe
framework for Lhe emergence of LelecommunlcaLlons arL by emphaslzlng LhaL cosa menLale
LhaL uuchamp had already defended agalnsL Lhe purely vlsual resulL of reLlnal palnLlng. Marck
wroLe LhaL Lhe parLlclpanLs wanL Lo geL away from Lhe lnLerpreLaLlon of arL as speclflc,
handcrafLed, preclous ob[ecL. 1hey value process over producL and experlence over
possesslon. 1hey are more concerned abouL Llme and place Lhan abouL space and form. 1hey
are fasclnaLed wlLh Lhe ob[ecL quallLy of words and Lhe llLerary connoLaLlon of lmages. 1hey
re[ecL llluslon, sub[ecLlvlLy, formallsL LreaLmenL and a hlerarchy of values ln arL. [23]

1hls exhlblL's ploneerlng sLaLus ln Lhe developmenL of Lhe aesLheLlcs of LelecommunlcaLlons
was counLerbalanced by many arLlsL's raLher shy response Lo Lhe challenge of maklng creaLlve
use of Lhe Lelephone. 1he ma[orlLy of Lhe parLlclpanLs never worked wlLh communlcaLlons or
LelecommunlcaLlons before, buL whaL ls noLlceable ls LhaL Lhelr response Lo Lhls unlque
opporLunlLy was sLlll bound by Lhe noLlon LhaL Lhe work of arL ls embodled ln Langlble maLLer
-- even lf maLLer wlLhouL durable subsLance. MosL arLlsLs used Lhe Lelephone ln an ordlnary
way, provldlng lnsLrucLlons for Lhe maklng of ob[ecLs and lnsLallaLlons, only a few dared Lo
Lransform an acLual communlcaLlon experlence ln Lhe work lLself. 1he mosL noLable
excepLlons are SLan vanuer8eek, !oseph kosuLh, !ames Lee 8yars and 8oberL PuoL.
""

PuoL's lnLeracLlve proposal was Lhe mosL unusual lf noL Lhe mosL llLeral. lL poLenLlally lnvolved
all vlslLors of Lhe museum and aLLempLed Lo generaLe unexpecLed flrsL meeLlngs by
employlng chance and anonymlLy. 1wenLy-slx clLles ln Amerlca were chosen, each sLarLlng
wlLh a leLLer of Lhe alphabeL, and LwenLy-slx men named ArLhur were selecLed, one ln each
clLy. Lach ArLhur's lasL name was Lhe flrsL llsLlng under Lhe lnlLlal leLLer of Lhe clLy (ArLhur
8acon, ln 8alLlmore, for lnsLance). 1he Museum dlsplayed a llsL of all clLles and names, and
lnvlLed vlslLors Lo call and ask for "ArL". 1he work was Lhe unexpecLed conversaLlon beLween
"ArL" and Lhe vlslLor, and lLs developmenL LoLally up Lo Lhem. PuoL's plece, no maLLer lf
lnLended as a pun on Lhe LlLle of Lhe show, presenLs Lhe arLlsL as Lhe creaLor of a conLexL --
noL a passlve experlence. lL dlsregards plcLorlal represenLaLlon, glves up conLrol over Lhe work
and Lakes advanLage of Lhe real-Llme and lnLeracLlve quallLles of Lhe Lelephone. 1he plece was
meanL Lo spark relaLlonshlps, and by dolng so anLlclpaLed much of Lhe LelecommunlcaLlons
work of Lhe nexL Lwo decades.

?+".!, &$,$#*(/+%" !/= >$@(/=
lor all Lhe soclal, pollLlcal and culLural lmpllcaLlons of Lhe Lelephone, or more preclsely, Lhe
dlaloglc sLrucLurlng of Lhe Lelephone, one ls compelled Lo observe LhaL llLLle crlLlcal aLLenLlon
has been pald Lo lL. PlsLorlcal, Lechnlcal and quanLlLaLlve soclologlcal sLudles can shed llLLle
llghL on Lhe deeper problemaLlcs of Lhe Lelephone, whlch ls ad[acenL Lo llngulsLlcs, semlology,
phllosophy and arL. AvlLal 8onell has broughL Lo Lhe fore a long-dlsLance phllosophlcal call
LhaL ls as unprecedenLed as lL ls welcome. LeLLlng her own dlscourse osclllaLe beLween orallLy
and wrlLlng ln Lhe connecLlons and rerouLlngs of a meLaphorlcal swlLchboard, 8onell's book
[26] has provlded a new phllosophlcal lnslghL, a mulLl-parLy llne beLween MarLln Peldegger,
Slgmund lreud, !acques uerrlda, and, of course, Alexander Craham 8ell. 8onell's gesLure,
albelL on anoLher plane, ls slmllar Lo LhaL of Lhose arLlsLs LhaL slnce Lhe laLe 1970's have found
ln Lhe Lelephone an lncomparable source for experlmenLaLlon. Why Lhe Lelephone?

ln some ways lL [Lhe Lelephone] was Lhe cleanesL way Lo reach Lhe reglme of any number of
meLaphyslcal cerLlLudes. lL desLablllzes Lhe ldenLlLy of self and oLher, sub[ecL and Lhlng, lL
abollshes Lhe orlglnarlness of slLe, lL undermlnes Lhe auLhorlLy of Lhe 8ook and consLanLly
menaces Lhe exlsLence of llLeraLure. lL ls lLself unsure of lLs ldenLlLy as ob[ecL, Lhlng, plece of
equlpmenL, perlocuLlonary lnLenslLy or arLwork (Lhe beglnnlngs of Lelephony argue for lLs
place as arLwork), lL offers lLself as lnsLrumenL of Lhe desLlnal alarm, and Lhe dlsconnecLlng
force of Lhe Lelephone enables us Lo esLabllsh someLhlng llke Lhe maLernal superego. [27]

1he beglnnlngs of Lelephony argued for Lhe arLlsLlc merlLs of Lhe Lelephone based on lLs
capaclLy of LransmlLLlng sound over long dlsLances, l.e., based on lLs resemblance Lo whaL we
know Loday as radlo. lL would be posslble, 8ell and oLher ploneers hoped, Lo llsLen Lo operas,
news, concerLs and plays over Lhe phone. ln 8ell's earllesL lecLures and performances, when
Lhe Lwo-wayness of Lhe medlum was sLlll a Lechnlcal obsLacle, WaLson would play Lhe organ
and slng over Lhe phone Lo enLerLaln Lhe audlence and demonsLraLe Lhe posslblllLles of Lhe
new devlce. Several decades laLer, lf buslness over Lhe Lelephone mulLlplled LransacLlons, lLs
use ln Lhe cozlness of Lhe household provoked mlxed reacLlons. !ohn 8rooks polnLs ouL [28]
LhaL P. C. Wells, ln hls "LxperlmenL ln AuLoblography" (1934), complalned abouL Lhe lnvaslon
of prlvacy spawned by Lhe Lelephone. Wells expressed hls deslre for
"#
a one-way Lelephone, so LhaL when we wanLed news we could ask for lL, and when we were
noL ln a sLaLe Lo recelve and dlgesL news, we should noL have lL forced upon us. [29]

Wells was con[urlng an lmage of a fuLure all-news radlo sLaLlon, Lhe creaLlon of whlch, as
McLuhan has noLlced, would laLer resulL from Lelevlslon's lmpacL on radlo. More lmporLanLly,
Wells was reacLlng Lo Lhe lnLruslon of LhaL "desLlnal alarm" LhaL 8onell refers Lo, Lo LhaL
"dlsconnecLlng force" of Lhe Lelephone LhaL ls so dlsLurblng and aLLracLlve, so unseLLllng and
arresLlng. When Wells sLresses LhaL Lhe Lelephone provldes news even when he does noL
deslre lL, he promoLes noLlce of LhaL pro[ecLlve LralL of Lhe Lelephone, whlch ls Lhe launchlng
of speech -- and speech alone -- ln Lhe dlrecLlon of Lhe oLher ln consLanL demand for
lmmedlaLe readlness. 1hls demand Lakes place ln Lhe llngulsLlc domaln and ls properly
answered by a quesLlon whlch ls aL Lhe same Llme a dublous answer: "yes?"
erhaps whaL ls unlque abouL ordlnary Lelephony ls LhaL ln lLs clrculLry only spoken language
clrculaLes. As 8oberL Popper has suggesLed [30], Lhe Lelephone emphaslzes Lhe llnearlLy of
slgns by spllLLlng sound off from all oLher senses, by lsolaLlng Lhe vocal elemenL of
communlcaLlon from lLs naLural congrulLy wlLh Lhe faclal and Lhe gesLural. 8y cuLLlng Lhe
audlle ouL of lLs lnLerrelaLlon wlLh Lhe vlsual and Lhe LacLlle, and by separaLlng lnLerlocuLors
from Lhe speech communlLy, Lhe Lelephone absLracLs communlcaLlon processes and
relnforces WesLern phonocenLrlsm [31], now LranslaLed lnLo an ouLreachlng
LelephonocenLrlsm. lL ls Lo desLablllze Lhls phonocenLrlsm, and subsequenLly Lo conLrlbuLe ln
undolng hlerarchles and cenLrallzaLlon of meanlng, knowledge and experlence, LhaL LheorlsLs
llke 8onell and LelecommunlcaLlons arLlsLs lnvesL Lhelr calls. ln Lhe LwenLleLh-cenLury, whaL
uerrlda calls phonocenLrlsm can be Lraced back Lo Saussure, and Popper cauLlously flnds
Saussure bound Lo Lhe Lelephone. Popper supporLs hls argumenL wlLh evldence LhaL Saussure
llved ln arls when Lhe clLy saw Lhe boom of Lelephony. 8uL more Lhan LhaL, he remlnds us
LhaL Lhe Lelephone was lnvenLed by a speech Leacher of Lhe deaf (8ell) and he sLresses Lhe
acuLe resemblance of Saussure's speaklng-clrculL Lo Lelephonlc communlcaLlon.[32] ln Lhe
almosL sclenLlflc vocal lsolaLlon of Lelephony and ln Lhe presence of absenL speakers, speech
speaks loudly of lLs llnear sLrucLure and offers lLself for LheoreLlcal (and arLlsLlc) lnvesLlgaLlon.
8elng Lhls enLlLy whlch excludes all LhaL ls dlfferenL from vocal lmmedlacy, Lhe Lelephone
speaks volumes of lLs plaLonlc meLaphyslcal framework. 8uL when zerolng ln on several
parLlculars of LelemaLlc experlence, one lnsLanLlaLes new lnslghLs on Lhe Lelephonlc sLrucLure
LhaL conLrlbuLe Lo a posslble deconsLrucLlon of LhaL framework. erhaps Lhe mosL relevanL
aspecL of Lhe new Lelephonlc synLax ls lLs recenL Lechnlcal absorpLlon of Lhe graphlc elemenL.
lL ls now Lechnlcally posslble noL only Lo Lalk buL Lo wrlLe over Lhe phone (e-mall), Lo prlnL
over Lhe phone (fax), Lo produce and record sound and vldeo (answerlng machlne, slow-scan
1v, vldeophone) over Lhe phone. As we have seen, lL ls also very llkely LhaL ln Lhe fuLure, flber
opLlcs wlll glve us access Lo Lelecyberspace. 1he Lelephone ls becomlng Lhe medlum par
excellence of LhaL "enlarged and radlcallzed" wrlLlng LhaL slgnals uerrlda, buL conLrarlly Lo
whaL one would oLherwlse hypoLheslze, Lhe more Lhe Lelephone becomes speechless Lhe
more cenLral lLs role becomes ln our llves. lL ls clear LhaL Lhe Lelephone ls slowly buL
conLlnuously ceaslng Lo owe lLs exlsLence excluslvely Lo orallLy, buL Lhe culLural lmpllcaLlons of
Lhls new aspecL of conLemporary llfe remalns Lo be furLher elaboraLed as an aesLheLlc
experlence.
"$
lf Lhe arLlsL can have a unlque encounLer wlLh Lechnology because he or she ls an experL
aware of Lhe changes ln sense percepLlon, as McLuhan purporLed [33], Lhen lL ls Lhe arLlsL
who wlll lnsLlgaLe Lhe dlscovery of new realms of experlence beyond ordlnary cognlLlon.
1oday a small number of arLlsLs lnflaLed by an splrlL of genulne arLlsLlc lnqulry are Lurnlng
Lhelr back on Lhe arL markeL and are commlLLlng Lhemselves Lo creaLlng LelecommunlcaLlons
evenLs ln Lhe placeless place of neLworklng.
SLarLlng ln 1982, afLer Lhe ploneerlng LelecommunlcaLlon acLlvlLles of 8lll 8arLleLL, SLan
vanuer8eek and Llza 8ear, 8ruce 8reland, MaLL Wrblcan and oLher members of Lhe
lLLsburgh-based uax group (whlch now has an exLenslon ln 8elllngham, WashlngLon), have
worked conslsLenLly wlLh fax and slow-scan 1v as arLlsLlc medla. uax has creaLed or
parLlclpaLed ln LelecommunlcaLlons evenLs ln whlch Lelephone llnes are saLuraLed wlLh slgnals
LhaL flow ln mulLlple dlrecLlons carrylng graphlc lnformaLlon. 1hese lnLeracLlons ofLen lnclude
oLher medla as well (dance, compuLer muslc, eLc), span over several Llme zones, are
geographlcally dlspersed and esLabllsh varled klnds of relaLlonshlps beLween parLlclpanLs.
8ruce 8reland, ulrecLor of Lhe group, wroLe LhaL
1he concepL of lnLeracLlve sysLems has erased Lhe old boundarles of reglonallsm or naLlonallsLlc arL. 1elemaLlcs
has creaLed Lhe posslblllLy of a new seLLlng for lnLeracLlve parLlclpaLlon beLween lndlvlduals and groups.
1elemaLlcs provldes a means for lnsLanLaneous and lmmedlaLe dlssemlnaLlon of lnformaLlon granLlng Lhe
lndlvldual a cholce beLween slmple reLrleval or lnLrlcaLe collaboraLlve arL evenLs. [34]

Cne of Lhelr flrsL acLlvlLles was parLlclpaLlon ln "1he World ln 24 hours" (1982), a global
neLwork organlzed by 8oberL Adrlan for Ars LleLronlca, ln AusLrla, whlch llnked slxLeen clLles
on Lhree conLlnenLs for a day and a nlghL. 1hree years laLer, Lhey sLreLched Lhe noLlon of
worldwlde lnLeracLlon wlLh "1he ulLlmaLe ConLacL", a slow-scan 1v plece creaLed over lM
radlo ln collaboraLlon wlLh Lhe space shuLLle Challenger, ln orblL around Lhe LarLh. 1he uax
group also parLlclpaLed ln larger neLworks reallzed ln acknowledged arL lnsLlLuLlons, such as
Lhe "ublqua" (1986) LelecommunlcaLlons lab aL Lhe 42nd 8lennale de venezla. ln lL, Lhey
parLlclpaLed wlLh LexL (l Sharp), slow-scan 1v, and fax. More recenLly, Lhey were Lhe flrsL Lo
collaboraLe wlLh Afrlcan arLlsLs ln a LelecommunlcaLlons evenL. Cn !uly 1990, Lhey creaLed
"uax uakar d'Accord", a slow-scan 1v exchange wlLh arLlsLs ln lLLsburgh and uakar, Senegal,
as parL of a Senegalese flve-year commemoraLlon of Lhe Afrlcan ulaspora, Lhe "Coree-
Almadles Memorlal".[33]. arLlclpanLs from uakar lncluded 8reland, Wrblcan, 8ruce 1aylor,
Mor Cueye (glass palnLlngs), Serlgne Sallou Mbacke, ue C.A.S.A. (sand palnLlngs), Les
Ambassadeurs (dance and muslc), Le 8alleL unlL Afrlcalne (dance and muslc), and lanLa
Mbacke kouyaLe performlng "Coree Song", whlch makes reference Lo Coree lsland ln uakar
Parbour, holdlng and embarkaLlon place for Lhe slave Lrade LhaL Look place over a four-
hundred year perlod.
ln 8razll, or perhaps l should say, ln and ouL of 8razll, arLlsLs such as Marlo 8amlro, CllberLLo
rado (a member of lrench ArL 8eseaux), aulo 8ruscky and Carlos ladon have worked wlLh
LelecommunlcaLlons slnce Lhe early or mld 1980's. 1he evenLs creaLed by Lhese arLlsLs, some
of whom have occaslonally worked LogeLher, encompassed exchanges boLh on a naLlonal and
lnLernaLlonal scale. Marlo 8amlro, now llvlng ln Cermany, ls also a sculpLor who works wlLh
zero-gravlLy and lnfrared radlaLlon. Pe has lnlLlaLed and parLlclpaLed ln a number of
LelecommunlcaLlons evenLs wlLh fax, slow-scan 1v, vldeoLexL, llve Lelevlslon broadcasLs and
radlo. Pe has also wrlLLen exLenslvely on Lhe sub[ecL. aulo 8ruscky, from 8eclfe, well-known
"%
for hls work ln xerography and mall-arL, ls one of Lhe few 8razlllan arLlsLs Lo have been
awarded a Cuggenhelm fellowshlp. Pls early work ln LelecommunlcaLlons lnvolved
experlmenLs wlLh Lelex and fax. Carlos ladon, who llved ln Chlcago and now ls back ln So
aulo, ls a phoLographer and compuLer arLlsL whose work ls parL of several lnLernaLlonal
collecLlons. Cne of hls mosL orlglnal slow-scan 1v pleces [36] ls "naLureza MorLa ao vlvo"
("SLlll Llfe/Allve"), whlch proposes LhaL once one arLlsL (A) sends an lmage Lo anoLher (8), Lhe
lmage recelved becomes Lhe background for a sLlll llfe creaLed llve. 1he arLlsL (8) places
ob[ecLs ln fronL of Lhe elecLronlc lmage and Lhe comblnaLlon of boLh ob[ecL and lmage ls
capLured as a vldeo sLlll whlch ls now senL back Lo Lhe arLlsL (A). 1hls arLlsL now uses Lhls new
lmage as Lhe background for a new composlLlon wlLh new ob[ecLs and sends lL Lo Lhe arLlsL
(A). 1hls process ls repeaLed wlLh no Lermlnus, so LhaL Lhe generaLlon of a sLlll llfe remalns a
work-ln-progress Lhrough whlch a vlsual dlalogue Lakes place.
ln arls, lrance, Lhe ArL 8eseaux group, formed by karen C'8ourke, CllberLLo rado,
ChrlsLophe Le lranols and oLhers, has been developlng elaboraLe pro[ecLs such as C'8ourke's
"ClLy orLralLs" [37], whlch call for parLlclpanLs ln a global neLwork Lo Lravel ln lmaglnary clLles
by means of exchange of fax lmages. 1he pro[ecL usually lnvolves Lhe lnlLlal creaLlon of a palr
of lmages, Lhe enLrance and Lhe exlL, whlch oLher arLlsLs Lhen Lake as Lhe exLremes of Lhe
rouLe Lhey wlll explore ln Lhe meLamorphosls of lmages exchanged over Lhe Lelephone llne.
ArLlsLs creaLe enLrances and exlLs uslng lmages of Lhe clLles Lhey llve ln, by manlpulaLlng oLher
lmages Lo form synLheLlc landscapes or boLh, blendlng aspecLs of dlrecL and lmaglnary
experlences of Lhe urban envlronmenL. CllberLLo rado has been worklng on Lhe "ConnecL"
pro[ecL, whlch lnvolves aL leasL Lwo slLes and Lwo fax machlnes ln each slLe. ArLlsLs ln each slLe
are asked noL Lo cuL Lhe roll of Lhermal paper ln Lhe machlne when fax lmages sLarL Lo appear.
lnsLead, Lhey are asked Lo feed LhaL roll lnLo anoLher fax machlne and lnLerfere ln Lhe lmages
ln Lhe process. A loop ls Lhen formed, connecLlng noL only Lhe arLlsLs buL Lhe machlnes
Lhemselves. 1hls new conflguraLlon forms a clrcle ln elecLronlc space, llnklng ln an lmaglnary
Lopology clLles LhaL can be as far aparL as arls and Chlcago. As an example of posslble
sysLems of lnLeracLlon beyond llnear models, rado deslgned a clrcular dlagram ln whlch Lhe
hands (and noL Lhe mouLhs or Lhe ears of Lhe lnLerlocuLors) are Lhe organs used for
communlcaLlon.
Le lranols' mosL recenL pro[ecL ls "lnfesL", ln whlch arLlsLs are lnvlLed Lo lnvesLlgaLe
aesLheLlcally LhaL new aspecL of conLemporary llfe whlch ls Lhe deLerloraLlon of lmages and
documenLs due Lo conLamlnaLlon and lnfecLlon by compuLer vlruses. uurlng Lhe exchanges,
lmages suffer manlpulaLlons LhaL aLLempL Lo desLroy and reconsLrucL Lhem
(lnfecLlon/dlslnfecLlon), polnLlng Lo Lhe new condlLlon of elecLronlc decay ln Lhe world of
dlglLal epldemlology.
As Lhe meLaphors of human exlsLence conLlnue Lo lnLermlngle wlLh Lhose of cyberneLlc
exlsLence, deslgners learn how Lo cope wlLh lssues of lnLerfaclng and arLlsLs compare remoLe
communlcaLlon Lo face-Lo-face lnLeracLlon. Acknowledglng Lhe place of Lelephony ln arL,
karen C'8ourke reflecLed on Lhe naLure of fax exchanges as an arLlsLlc pracLlce:

MosL of us Loday have Laken noL palnLlng (nor even phoLography) as a sLarLlng polnL for our
lmages, buL Lhe Lelephone lLself. We use lL noL only Lo send lmages buL Lo recelve Lhem as
well. 1hls nearly lnsLanLaneous feedback Lransforms Lhe naLure of Lhe messages we send, [usL
"&
as Lhe presence of a llve audlence lnflecLs Lhe way ln whlch acLors lnLerpreL Lhelr roles or
muslclans Lhelr scores. [38]
1radlLlonally, as ln Lhe slgn/ldea relaLlonshlp, represenLaLlon (palnLlng, sculpLure) ls LhaL
whlch Lakes place as absence (Lhe slgn ls LhaL whlch evokes Lhe ob[ecL ln lLs absence).
Llkewlse, experlence (happenlng, performance) ls LhaL whlch Lakes place as presence (one
only experlences someLhlng when Lhls someLhlng ls presenL ln Lhe fleld of percepLlon). ln
LelecommunlcaLlons arL, presence and absence are engaged ln a long-dlsLance call LhaL upseLs
Lhe poles of represenLaLlon and experlence. 1he Lelephone ls ln consLanL dlsplacemenL, lL ls
logocenLrlc buL lLs phoneLlc space, now ln congrulLy wlLh lnscrlpLlon sysLems (fax, e-mall eLc)
slgnlfles ln Lhe absence more Lyplcally assoclaLed wlLh wrlLlng (absence of sender, absence of
recelver). 1he Lelephone momenLarlly dlsplaces presence and absence Lo lnsLanLlaLe
experlence noL as pure presence, buL, as uerrlda wroLe, "chalns of dlfferenLlal marks"[39].

%(/%,."+(/

1he new aesLheLlc ouLllned ln Lhe prevlous pages cerLalnly escapes from Lhe problemaLlc
rubrlc of flne arLs. 1he roles of arLlsLs and audlence become lnLerLwlned, Lhe exhlblLlon qua
forum where physlcal ob[ecLs engage Lhe percepLlon of Lhe vlewer loses lLs cenLral poslLlon,
Lhe very noLlon of meanlng and represenLaLlon ln Lhe vlsual arLs -- assoclaLed wlLh Lhe
presence of Lhe arLlsL and sLable semlo-llngulsLlc convenLlons -- ls revlsed and neuLrallzed by
Lhe experlenLlal seLLlng of communlcaLlons.
Pavlng evolved from early experlmenLs pursued by arLlsLs assoclaLed wlLh Lhe movemenL of
concepLual arL, where language and medla were flrsL lnvesLlgaLed programmaLlcally as arLlsLlc
realms, LelecommunlcaLlons arL provldes a new conLexL for Lhe posLmodern debaLe.
Cur LradlLlonal noLlons abouL symbollc exchanges have been relaLlvlzed by new Lechnologles,
from answerlng machlnes Lo cellular Lelephony, from cash sLaLlons Lo volce-lnLerface
compuLers, from survelllance sysLems Lo saLelllLes, from radlo Lo wlreless modems, from
broadcasL neLworks Lo e-mall neLworks, from Lelegraphy Lo free-space communlcaLlons.
noLhlng ln Lhese promoLers of soclal lnLercourse auLhorlzes nelLher shear opLlmlsm nor bleak
neglecL, Lhey call for a dlsengagemenL from Lhe concepL of communlcaLlon as Lransmlsslon of
a message, as expresslon of oneself's consclousness, as correspondenL of a pre-deflned
meanlng.
1he experlmenLal use of LelecommunlcaLlons by arLlsLs polnLs Lo a new culLural problemaLlcs
and Lo a new arL. Pow Lo descrlbe, for example, Lhe encounLer now posslble beLween Lwo or
more people ln Lhe space of Lhe lmage ln a vldeophone call? lf Lwo people can Lalk aL Lhe
same Llme on Lhe phone, lf Lhelr volces can meeL and overlap, whaL Lo say abouL Lhe new
experlence of LelemeeLlng ln Lhe reclprocal space of Lhe lmage? WhaL Lo say abouL all Lhe
LelecommunlcaLlon models [40] LhaL don'L accounL for Lhe mulLl-parLy lnLerwoven fabrlc of
planeLary neLworks? AfLer mlnlmal and concepLual arL, does lL sufflce Lo reLurn Lo Lhe
decoraLlve elemenLs of parody and pasLlche ln palnLlng? And Lhe hybrldlzaLlon of medla,
whlch now compress maxlmum lnformaLlon-processlng capablllLles ln mlnlmum space? Pow
Lo deal wlLh Lhe new hypermedla LhaL wlll unlLe ln one apparaLus Lelephone, Lelevlslon,
answerlng machlne, vldeo dlsk, sound recorder, compuLer, fax/e-mall, vldeophone, word
"'
processlng and much more? Pow can Lhere be a recelver or a LransmlLLer as poslLlve values lf
lL ls only ln Lhe connecLlng acL, lf lL ls only ln Lhe crlsscrosslngs of Lelephonlc exchanges LhaL
such poslLlons Lemporarlly consLlLuLe Lhemselves? ConLemporary arLlsLs musL dare work wlLh
Lhe maLerlal and lmmaLerlal means of our Llme and address Lhe pervaslve lnfluence of new
Lechnologles ln every aspecL of our llves, even lf LhaL lmplles Lo lnLeracL from afar, Lo remaln
ouL of slghL, aL-a-dlsLance from Lhe arL markeL and lLs accompllces. l quoLe uerrlda [41], now
ln concluslve mode:
Cne never sees a new arL, one Lhlnks one sees lL, buL a "new arL", as people say a llLLle loosely, may be
recognlzed by Lhe facL LhaL lL ls noL recognlzed, one would say LhaL lL cannoL be seen because one lacks noL only
a ready dlscourse whlch organlzes Lhe experlence of Lhls arL lLself and ls worklng even on our opLlcal apparaLus,
our mosL elemenLary vlslon. And yeL, lf Lhls "new arL" arlses, lL ls because wlLhln Lhe vague Lerraln of Lhe lmpllclL,
someLhlng ls already enveloped -- and developlng.


<$)$<$/%$" !/= /(&$"


1 - Claude L. Shannon and Warren Weaver, 1he MaLhemaLlcal 1heory of CommunlcaLlon
(urbana: 1he unlverslLy of llllnols ress, 1949).
2 - 8oman !akobson, "LlngulsLlcs and oeLlcs", SLyle ln Language (new ?ork: Ml1 ress, 1960),
1homas Sebeok, org., pp. 333-336.
3 - 1wo examples based on personal experlence: a) ln 1989, Carlos ladon and l (Chlcago),
8ruce 8reland and MaLL Wrblcan (lLLsburgh) and uana Moser (8osLon) collaboraLed ln
"1hree ClLles", a slow-scan exchange operaLed Lhrough Lhree-way calllng, b) ln 1990, ladon
and l suggesLed Lo 8ruce 8reland Lhe creaLlon of an lnLernaLlonal LelecommunlcaLlon evenL Lo
be called "lmprompLu", ln whlch arLlsLs would Lry Lo engage ln conversaLlons wlLh Lele-medla
(fax, SS1v, eLc) Lhe same lmprovlsed way Lhey do when Lalklng face-Lo-face. "LarLh uay" was
golng Lo be celebraLed soon, and 8ruce suggesLed we expand Lhe ldea Lo encompass Lhe
ecologlcal conLexL and make lL "LarLh uay lmprompLu". ladon and l agreed, and we sLarLed Lo
work wlLh 8ruce and Lhe uax group, and lrene lalguenbolm, ln organlzlng lL. LaLer, 8ruce's
experlence wlLh large neLworks proved cruclal: worklng wlLh oLher uax members, he made
posslble a very large SS1v conference call wlLh several arLlsLs ln dlfferenL counLrles, whlch
was, LogeLher wlLh Lhe fax and vldeophone neLwork, parL of Lhe "LarLh uay lmprompLu".
4 - Pans Magnus Lnzensberger, "ConsLlLuenLs of a 1heory of Lhe Medla", vldeo CulLure (new
?ork: vlsual SLudles Workshop ress, 1986), !ohn PanhardL, ed., p. 104.
3 - ln ArLlsLs' use of lnLeracLlve Lelephone-based communlcaLlon sysLems from 1977-1984
(unpubllshed masLer Lhesls submlLLed Lo ClLy ArL lnsLlLuLe, Sldney College of Advanced
LducaLlon), 1986, p. 18, Lrlc Cldney glves an accounL of ploneer arLlsL 8lll 8arLleLL's
LelecommunlcaLlon evenLs and also of hls dlsappolnLmenL wlLh oLher arLlsL's response:
"8arLleLL was dlsmayed aL Lhe rapaclLy of many norLh Amerlcan arLlsLs, who were wllllng Lo
collaboraLe only lnsofar as lL furLhered Lhelr own careers. Pe found LhaL some arLlsLs would
slmply refuse Lo correspond afLer a pro[ecL was compleLed. Pe felL leL down, explolLed and
"burned ouL". AssaulLed by serlous doubLs, he declded Lo wlLhdraw from any lnvolvemenL ln
"(
LelecommunlcaLlons work." Cldney also summarlzes Lhe LelecommunlcaLlon work of ploneer
arLlsL Llza 8ear, and quoLes her (p. 21): "A hlerarchlcal sLrucLure ls noL concepLually well-
sulLed and does noL creaLe Lhe besL amblance for communlcaLlon by arLlsLs. 1hls [medlum] ls
only successful ln reglons where arLlsLs and vldeo people already have a good Lrack record of
worklng LogeLher, sharlng ldeas and preparlng maLerlal".
6 - !ean 8audrlllard, "8equlem for Lhe Medla", vldeo CulLure (new ?ork: vlsual SLudles
Workshop ress, 1986), !ohn PanhardL, ed., p. 129. 8audrlllard formulaLes Lhe problem of
lack of response (or lrresponslblllLy) of Lhe medla wlLh clarlLy: "1he LoLallLy of Lhe exlsLlng
archlLecLure of Lhe medla founds lLself on Lhls laLLer deflnlLlon: Lhey are whaL always prevenLs
response, maklng all processes of exchange lmposslble (excepL ln Lhe varlous forms of
response slmulaLlon, Lhemselves lnLegraLed ln Lhe Lransmlsslon process, Lhus leavlng Lhe
unllaLeral naLure of Lhe communlcaLlon lnLacL). 1hls ls Lhe real absLracLlon of Lhe medla. And
Lhe sysLem of soclal conLrol and power ls rooLed ln lL." ln order Lo resLore Lhe posslblllLy of
response (or responslblllLy) ln Lhe currenL conflguraLlon of Lhe LelecommunlcaLlons medla lL
would be necessary Lo provoke Lhe desLrucLlon of Lhe exlsLlng sLrucLure of Lhe medla. And
Lhls seems Lo be, as 8audrlllard rushes Lo polnL ouL, Lhe only posslble sLraLegy, aL leasL on a
LheoreLlcal level, because Lo Lake power over medla or Lo replace lLs conLenL wlLh anoLher
conLenL ls Lo preserve Lhe monopoly of speech.
7 - See: kac, L., "ArLe pelo Lelefone", C Clobo, SepLember 13, 1987, 8lo de !anelro, "C arco-
rls de alk", C Clobo, !uly 10, 1988, 8lo de !anelro, "arallels beLween LelemaLlcs and
holography as arL forms", ln navlgaLlng ln Lhe 1elemaLlc Sea, 8ruce 8reland, ed., new
CbservaLlons, 76, new ?ork, May-!une 1990, p. 7, kac, L., "CrnlLorrlnco: Lxplorlng
1elepresence and 8emoLe Senslng", ln ConnecLlvlLy: ArL and lnLeracLlve 1elecommunlcaLlons,
8oy AscoLL and Carl Lugene Loeffler, eds., Leonardo, vol. 24, n.2, 1991, p. 233, kac, L., "Cn
Lhe noLlon of arL as a vlsual dlalogue", ln ArL 8eseaux, karen C'8ourke, ed., unlverslL de
arls l, anLhon-Sorbonne, arls,1992, pp. 20-23.
8 - ArL Com (an onllne magazlne forum), 1lm Anderson and Wendy lesnlak, eds., number 40,
vol. 10, AugusL 1990, lssue dedlcaLed Lo Lhe uax Croup.
9 - AscoLL, 8., "ArL and 1elemaLlcs", ln ArL 1elecommunlcaLlons, Peldl Crundmann, ed., 1he
WesLern lronL, vancouver, Canada (Shakespeare Company, vlenna, AusLrla), 1984, pp. 23-38.
10 - C'8ourke, k., "noLes on lax-ArL", ln navlgaLlng ln Lhe 1elemaLlc Sea, 8ruce 8reland, ed.,
new CbservaLlons, 76, new ?ork, May-!une 1990, pp. 24-23.
11 - Cldney, L., "1he ArLlsL's use of LelecommunlcaLlons: a revlew", Leonardo, vol. 16, n. 4,
1983, pp. 311-313.
12 - loresL, l., "CommunlcaLlon LsLheLlcs, lnLeracLlve arLlclpaLlon and ArLlsLlc SysLems of
CommunlcaLlon and Lxpresslon", ln ueslgnlng Lhe lmmaLerlal SocleLy, ueslgn lssues speclal
lssue, Marco ulanl, ed., vol. lv, ns. 1 & 2, unlverslLy of llllnols, Chlcago, pp. 97-113.
13 - 8oberL Adrlan x addressed Lhls lssue when he observed ("CommunlcaLlng", ln ArL
1elecommunlcaLlons, Peldl Crundmann, ed., 1he WesLern lronL, vancouver, Canada
(Shakespeare Company, vlenna, AusLrla), 1984, pp. 76-80): "nobody ln easLern Lurope can
")
geL access Lo Lelefacslmlle equlpmenL or compuLer Llmesharlng equlpmenL... and Lhe slLuaLlon
ls much grlmmer ln Afrlca and mosL of Asla and LaLln Amerlca. lf Lhese parLs of Lhe world are
Lo be consldered for lncluslon ln arLlsLs' LelecommunlcaLlons pro[ecLs lL has Lo be aL Lhe level
of ACCLSSl8LL elecLronlc Lechnology... Lhe Lelephone or shorL wave radlo."

14 - ln CcLober 28, 1991, !aron Lanler lecLured aL Lhe audlLorlum of 1he School of 1he ArL
lnsLlLuLe of Chlcago. AL LhaL occaslon l had Lhe opporLunlLy Lo ask hlm whaL he meanL by Lhls
ofLen-quoLed and seldom-explalned phrase ["posL-symbollc communlcaLlon"]. Lanler
explalned LhaL one dlrecLlon he envlslons for vlrLual reallLy ls for lL Lo be Laken over by
Lelephone companles, so LhaL Llmesharlng ln cyberspace becomes posslble. ln Lhls seLLlng, lL
would be posslble for people ln dlsLanL locaLlons, wearlng daLasulLs, Lo meeL ln cyberspace.
1hese people would be able Lo exerclse vlsual Lhlnklng on a regular basls and communlcaLe by
oLher means dlfferenL Lhan spoken words, Lhey would be able Lo express an ldea by slmply
maklng LhaL ldea vlslble ln cyberspace, or by manlpulaLlng Lhelr own daLabody or by
manlpulaLlng Lhelr lnLerlocuLors' daLabodles [l'm calllng "daLabody" Lhe human body of a v8
user as seen by Lhe user once lmmersed ln cyberspace]. 1hls klnd of communlcaLlon, achleved
by a sLlll symbollc buL perhaps more dlrecL use of vlsual slgns, ls whaL Lanler called "posL-
symbollc communlcaLlon". Pls "8eallLy 8ullL for 1wo", or "882", ls a sLep ln LhaL dlrecLlon, and
we can expecL vldeophone servlces Lo provlde supporL for lL as well.
13 - Luclano Caruso, ManlfesLl luLurlsLl (llrenzl: Spes-Sallmbenl, 1980), pp. 233-236.
16 - onLus PulLen, org., luLurlsm & luLurlsms (venlce and new ?ork: alazzo Crassl and
Abbervllle ress, 1986), p. 346.
17 - lllllpo MarlneLLl, ll LeaLro fuLurlsLa slnLeLlco (dlnamlco-aloglco-auLonomo-slmulLaneo-
vlslonlco) a sorpresa aeroradloLelevlslvo caff concerLo radlofonlco (senza crlLlche ma con
Mlsurazlonl) (naples: CleL, 1941). Some words ln Lhls LlLle were neologlsms colned by
MarlneLLl and allow for mulLlple lnLerpreLaLlons. My cholces ln Lhe LranslaLlon of Lhe LlLle are
buL some of Lhe posslble soluLlons.
18 - !ean 8audrlllard, SlmulaLlons (new ?ork: SemloLexL(e), 1983) p 34. 1elecommunlcaLlon
medla now efface Lhe dlsLlncLlon beLween Lhemselves and whaL used Lo be percelved as
someLhlng aparL, LoLally dlfferenL from and lndependenL of Lhemselves, someLhlng we used
Lo call Lhe "real". 8audrlllard calls Lhls slLuaLlon "hyperreal", or "hyperreallLy". 1hls lack of
dlsLlncLlon beLween slgn (or form or medlum) and referenL (or conLenL or real) as sLable
enLlLles ls by Lhe same Loken a sLep furLher away from McLuhan and a sLep closer Lo Lhe new
llLerary crlLlclsm as eplLomlzed by uerrlda. ln whaL ls llkely Lo be hls mosL celebraLed essay,
"1he recesslon of Slmulacra", he once agaln acknowledges McLuhan's percepLlon LhaL ln Lhe
elecLronlc age Lhe medla are no longer ldenLlflable as opposed Lo lLs conLenL. 8uL 8audrlllard
goes furLher saylng LhaL: "1here ls no longer any medlum ln Lhe llLeral sense: lL ls now
lnLanglble, dlffuse and dlffracLed ln Lhe real, and lL can no longer even be sald LhaL Lhe laLLer ls
dlsLorLed by lL. "
19 - Laszlo Moholy-nagy, 1he new vlslon and AbsLracL of an ArLlsL (new ?ork: WlLLenborn,
1947), p. 79.
20 - klszLlna assuLh, Moholy-nagy (new ?ork: 1hames and Pudson, 1983), p. 33.
"*

21 - Sybll Moholy-nagy, Moholy-nagy, LxperlmenL ln 1oLallLy (MassachuseLLs: Ml1 ress,
1969), p xv.
22 - Laszlo Moholy-nagy, alnLlng, hoLography, lllm (MassachuseLLs: Ml1 ress, 1987).
23 - Moholy-nagy [alnLlng, hoLography, lllm], pp. 38-39.
24 - ArL by 1elephone, record-caLalogue of Lhe show, Museum of ConLemporary ArL, Chlcago,
1969.
23 - ArL by 1elephone, op. clL.
26 - AvlLal 8onell, 1he 1elephone 8ook, 1echnology, Schlzophrenla, LlecLrlc Speech (Llncoln:
unlverslLy of nebraska ress, 1989).
27 - 8onell, op. clL., p. 9.
28 - !ohn 8rooks, "1he llrsL and Cnly CenLury of 1elephone LlLeraLure", ln 1he Soclal lmpacL of
Lhe 1elephone, lLhlel de Sola ool, ed., (MassachuseLLs: Ml1 ress, 1977), p. 220.
29 - CuoLed by 8rooks, op. clL., p. 220.
30 - 8oberL Popper, "1elephone Speaklng and Lhe 8edlscovery of ConversaLlon", ln
CommunlcaLlon and Lhe CulLure of 1echnology, MarLln !. MedhursL, AlberLo Conzalez and
1arla 8al eLerson, eds., (ullman: WashlngLon SLaLe unlverslLy, 1990), p. 221.
31 - 1he hlsLory of WesLern clvlllzaLlon, Lhe hlsLory of our phllosophy, ls one of whaL uerrlda
calls "meLaphyslcs of presence". lL ls a hlsLory of Lhe prlvllege of Lhe spoken word whlch ls
LhoughL as Lhe lmmedlaLe, dlrecL expresslon of consclousness, as Lhe presence or
manlfesLaLlon of consclousness Lo lLself. ln a communlcaLlon evenL, for example, Lhe slgnlfler
seems Lo become LransparenL as lf allowlng Lhe concepL Lo make lLself presenL as whaL lL ls.
uerrlda shows LhaL Lhls reasonlng ls noL only presenL ln laLo (only spoken language dellvers
LruLh) and ArlsLoLle (spoken words as symbols of menLal experlence), buL ln uescarLes (Lo be
ls Lo Lhlnk, or Lo pronounce Lhls proposlLlon ln one self's mlnd), 8ousseau (condemnaLlon of
wrlLlng as desLrucLlon of presence and as dlsease of speech), Pegel (Lhe ear percelvlng Lhe
manlfesLaLlon of Lhe ldeal acLlvlLy of Lhe soul), Pusserl (meanlng as presenL Lo consclousness
aL Lhe lnsLanL of speaklng), Peldegger (Lhe amblgulLy of Lhe "volce of belng" whlch ls noL
heard), and vlrLually ln any lnsLance of Lhe developmenL of Lhe phllosophy of Lhe WesL. 1he
raLlonale and lmpllcaLlons of Lhls logocenLrlsm/phonocenLrlsm are noL obvlous and one musL
research lLs funcLlonlng. uerrlda explalns LhaL language ls lmpregnaLed by and wlLh Lhese
noLlons, Lherefore, ln every proposlLlon or sysLem of semloLlc lnvesLlgaLlon meLaphyslcal
assumpLlons coexlsL wlLh Lhelr own crlLlclsm, all afflrmaLlons of logocenLrlsm also show
anoLher slde LhaL undermlne Lhem. See !acques uerrlda, Cf CrammaLology (8alLlmore and
London: !ohn Popklns unlverslLy ress, 1976), also !acques uerrlda, oslLlons (Chlcago:
unlverslLy of Chlcago ress, 1981).
#+

32 - WhaL Popper does noL accounL for ls Lhe facL LhaL, ln hls dlscusslon of llngulsLlc
lnLercourse, Saussure only employs examples of face-Lo- face exchanges, ellmlnaLlng
Lelephonlc lnLercourse. Saussure (Course ln Ceneral LlngulsLlcs (new ?ork: McCraw-Plll,
1966), p. 206): "Whereas provlnclallsm makes men sedenLary, lnLercourse obllges Lhem Lo
move abouL. lnLercourse brlngs passers-by from oLher locallLles lnLo a vlllage, dlsplaces a parL
of Lhe populaLlon whenever Lhere ls a fesLlval or falr, unlLes men from dlfferenL provlnces ln
Lhe army, eLc."
33 - Marshall McLuhan, undersLandlng Medla (new ?ork: McCraw-Plll, 1964) p. 18.
34 - 8reland [new CbservaLlons], p.10.
33 - lor a compleLe llsL, see ArL Com, number 40, vol. 10, AugusL 1990.
36 - Carlos ladon, "SLlll Llfe/Allve", ln ConnecLlvlLy: ArL and lnLeracLlve 1elecommunlcaLlons,
8oy AscoLL and Carl Lugene Loeffler, eds., Leonardo, vol. 24, n.2, 1991, p. 233.
37 - See ConnecLlvlLy: ArL and lnLeracLlve 1elecommunlcaLlons, p. 233.
38 - C'8ourke, "noLes on lax-ArL", op. clL., p. 24.
39 - !acques uerrlda, LlmlLed lnc (LvansLon, lL: norLhwesLern unlverslLy ress, 1988), p. 10.
40 - lor a summary of communlcaLlon models, see uenls McCuall and Sven Wlndahl,
CommunlcaLlon Models for Lhe SLudy of Mass CommunlcaLlons (London and new ?ork:
Longman, 1981).
41 - !acques uerrlda, "vldeor", ln assages de L'lmage (8arcelona: Calxa de enslons, 1991), p.
176. "assages de L'lmage" was a Lravelllng exhlblLlon of medla arLs (vldeo, holography,
dlglLal lmaglng, eLc) organlzed by Lhe Muse naLlonal u'ArL Moderne, CenLre Ceorges
ompldou, arls.